Along the Fox River, recovery continues after record-flooding

Broken Oar Marina Bar & Grill in Port Barrington on the Fox River was hit hard by the record flooding last month.

As they watch the catastrophic flooding in Texas, residents in Algonquin and along the Fox River are reminded of the flooding disaster they grappled with last month.

And many areas are still recovering.

At Broken Oar Marina Bar & Grill in Port Barrington on the Fox River, summer is usually their prime time, drawing up to 3,500 people in a weekend. However, last month's record floods hit in the middle of their high season.

"We were having a record year until the floods hit and pretty much had to start all over again after we recovered from it," said Bonnie Miske-Haber, of the Broken Oar.

Six of the businesses' seven acres were under water, but they managed to stay open.

"Our gas pumps were under water, our piers were under water, and most of our seating areas were under water so we had to just roll with the punches and move tables as we went along," she said.

Dedicated customers helped sandbag the restaurant and then dry out and clean up once the water receded.

Miske-Haber calls it a brutal three weeks, which is why she says her heart goes out to people in Texas and Louisiana who are trying to survive Tropical Storm Harvey.

"We were fighting to save our homes and our businesses but those people are fighting to save their lives," Miske-Haber said.

The village of Algonquin also weathered the record floods.

"Normal flood stage is 9.5 feet. We were over 13 feet," said village assistant manager Mike Kumbera.

Kumbera said residents came together to help in whatever way was needed, much like what is happening now in Houston.

'It's heart shattering. You see that on TV, it's hard to believe. Just knowing the much larger scale that Houston and Louisiana are dealing with," Kumbera said.

He said the village of Algonquin is standing by, ready to send whatever resources it can to help the people of Houston.